‘Delta Lyrae is a double star with a separation of over 10 minutes of arc’

‘He had just invented a new instrument: a prototype sextant with arms nearly six feet in length and a scale graduated to single minutes of arc.’

‘But Kepler found a discrepancy of eight minutes of arc between the observed and predicted positions of the planet.’

‘Under ideal, bright conditions, the resolution of the human eye is about one minute of arc; performance falls off as scene brightness decreases.’

‘The table was based on a circle divided into 360 degrees with each degree divided into 60 minutes.’

Phrases

at the minuteBritish informal

At the present time.

‘I've got things on my mind at the minute’

‘The site isn't up to much at the minute - mind, nor is BT's ADSL service - so the two are in good company.’

‘Low borrowing rates and the absence of currency risks favours Europe at the minute.’

‘James added: ‘We are discussing middle names at the minute and Jacqui and Jeanette have cropped up.’’

‘It's unbelievable, I'm lost for words at the minute.’

by the minute

Very rapidly.

‘matters grew worse by the minute’

‘The chances of getting back will grow dimmer by the minute.’

‘The tempo of the game dropped as a result and Shelbourne grew more comfortable by the minute.’

‘The consistency with which Celtic confound expectation grows more remarkable by the minute.’

‘Better, but I still had dark circles under my eyes, and my hair was looking worse by the minute.’

‘Already, the group of men that had surrounded them was growing smaller and smaller by the minute.’

‘Both girls laughed over this, but Margaret's face seemed to grow paler by the minute.’

‘The snooping was forgotten as she started to skip around the room and grow more excited by the minute.’

‘There were bright lights around the entrance and the queue was growing longer by the minute.’

‘Evening was closing in, the air grew crisper by the minute, and the wind quieted to a whisper.’

‘The feeling grew stronger by the minute yet, each time, when he looked back, the road was deserted.’

just (or wait) a minute

1Used as a request to delay an action or decision for a short time.

‘wait a minute—I have to put my make-up on’

‘He stripped from his waist up, put on a black face, did about 20 minutes of the show and then said, wait a minute.’

‘Wait a minute - I have to go back and make sure that's what I actually saw.’

2Used as a prelude to a query or objection.

‘wait a minute—that just isn't true’

‘Wait a minute, wait a minute, doesn't BET also air a show called Comic View where on any given day any comedian could have two or three Michael Jackson jokes?’

‘The less money you make - wait a minute, wait a minute - the less money you make, the less taxes you pay.’

‘And I thought about it for a minute and said, wait a minute, there's a lot to be thankful for.’

‘Then you say, ‘wait a minute, wait a minute,’ and spend about 2 minutes playing devil's advocate.’

‘Hey, wait a minute - how about the United Nations?’

‘But wait a minute, I hear you say; those tax cuts expire in 2010.’

‘I think when young people start to realize what Dumont is proposing, then they'll take a huge step back and go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute!’’

‘You can see how there are some Americans who might look at this and say, wait a minute, it's branding the United States as the bad guy, when in fact the U.S. is trying to keep the bad people out.’

‘I think people step back and say wait a minute - who is running this thing and who is making the decisions?’

‘That was six months now and it's time to step back and say now wait a minute, what do these decisions mean?’

any minute (or at any minute)

Very soon.

‘a fight seemed likely to break out at any minute’

‘The doorbell will ring any minute, and soon the sockeye and I will be fork-tender.’

‘He started moving the books from the old, cheap shelves, which were threatening to break again at any minute.’

‘There he was, hanging by one arm to a rock that looked ready to break off at any minute.’

‘Alex's voice held a strained edge, sounding as if it would break any minute.’

‘I could feel the strain of her effort to be gentle, like I was going to break into pieces any minute.’

‘Lisa is such a draw that she threatens to capsize the entire film at any minute, making the premise too simple: only crazy people are sane, while you normal folks are just boring.’

‘It's not just physical sense of oppression, the weight of crouching and cramping and digging in a narrow cave that could collapse at any minute, though that's there.’

‘As I worked my way off the streets, one fear always lurked in my mind: my whole world could crumble at any minute, and I could lose everything.’

‘I can't help thinking that the doorbell will ring at any minute, and upon opening the front door I will be greeted by a small group of unseasonably-clothed carol singers.’

‘Yes, the table is set as though the guests are going to arrive at any minute, so you can imagine the different guests that Sand brought here.’

the minute (or the minute that)

As soon as.

‘let me know the minute he returns’

‘I regretted it all from the minute I saw it in the mirror until the minute it had fully grown back.’

‘But, the minute Doc put pen to paper, it became politicised in the way that he frames and describes it.’

‘Most sows are sent to the slaughter house the minute they can't reproduce babies.’

‘The clear message is: make sure the minute you experience these feelings, you call the helpline.’

‘There is usually plenty of heat the minute you walk outside the door of a tapas bar, provided you are in Spain and not Scotland.’

‘Now, as anyone who knows me will attest, the minute you make me an Official, I take my duties very seriously.’

‘But the minute the Americans pressed forward, they were fired at from another angle.’

‘The original scared me to death the minute I heard the title spoken aloud.’

‘However the minute I was inside the shop I felt very self conscious and wrong.’

‘She was so scared of her family's reaction that she hid the pregnancy from it until the minute she went into labour.’

not for a minute

Not at all.

‘he didn't fool me for a minute’

‘And that would not surprise me in the least, not for a minute.’

‘That's not for a minute to assert that those without savings are in any way lesser parents, or that families that scrimp and save do not provide warm and loving homes.’

‘I've certainly never resented all the training, not for a minute.’

‘‘I'm not for a minute suggesting that everything is right, but I find it difficult to see the general accusations that the Scottish Executive is ignoring the rural community,’ he told the Sunday Herald.’

‘In hindsight, I would not for a minute go back and say, ‘Gee, we should have gone slower so we could have had more forces built up behind us to control areas that we went past.’’

‘I'm not for a minute proposing that you shouldn't be there on opening day, I'm simply suggesting that fishing will improve as we approach the middle of July.’

‘The lines still flow, the timing is there too, and not for a minute does anybody feel like we have been away for so long.’

‘I am not for a minute suggesting that young heirs follow a rigid, boot camp regime, but it would be helpful if times like Gap Years were made up of several partitions.’

‘Your Honour, I was not for a minute suggesting that my client was more benevolent, only that others are in like position.’

‘I'm not for a minute suggesting that ‘head in the sand’ is the best alternative, however.’

this minute (or this very minute)informal

1At once; immediately.

‘pull yourself together this minute’

‘You had better straighten up right this minute or you'll go to bed without dinner.’

‘I'm coming up to check this minute - switch that computer off immediately!’

‘As Sara Cox said this morning: ‘JJ72, stop making all that pop music racket upstairs in your bedroom and come down here this minute… your tea's getting cold!’’

‘More photos here and please go here and buy their new EP right this minute.’

‘A powerful, bellowing voice says, ‘Get out of the house, this minute.’’

‘Please address any complaints to the management, and get that damned squirrel out of here right this minute before it chews the sugar and dandelion centrepiece I've been working on since Tuesday!’

‘Erin, get back here this minute!’

‘You come back here right this minute with that ring or I'll give you such a beating!’

‘I have the Mel Blanc ‘Happy Birthday’ records, though not where I can get to them right this minute.’

‘I'm telling you folks - if that's what running up and down ladders does for your game I'm into Mackey's this minute to order one!’

2British Only a short while ago.

‘I've just this minute got back home’

‘Ah, but don't worry, I've just this minute received an email from the landlord in Ireland who has authorised me to send round an electrician.’

‘I have just this minute signed the contract and it is now on the way to the solicitors.’

‘I just this minute blagged my way into an informal meeting tomorrow with the MD of a company I'd love to work for; it's in the business services sector.’

‘He's also, just this minute, taken delivery of a pair of binoculars with built in digital camera so will no doubt be playing with them for the next wee while.’

‘I'm just reaching the end of the working day and, believe it or not, I've only just this minute remembered that I have a weblog.’

‘And the irony is that I've just this minute been given a free membership to the local Holmes gym from my work.’

‘I've just this minute had a surprise telephone interview to be on a TV quiz show on Monday.’

‘Okay, I just this minute finished watching the single most dishonest report I have ever seen on an official network evening news program.’

‘I only went up to January of 2005, because even if you just this minute found me, you should at least have read back a few weeks.’

Origin

Late Middle English via Old French from late Latin minuta, feminine (used as a noun) of minutus ‘made small’. The senses ‘period of sixty seconds’ and ‘sixtieth of a degree’ derive from medieval Latin pars minuta prima ‘first minute part’.

2An official memorandum authorizing or recommending a course of action.

‘An office minute recommending dissolution of this forum to take effect from early April 2007 is being drafted for Second Commissioner approval.’

‘It is suggested that all the trustees unanimously sign the Financial Statements, or unanimously sign a Minute authorizing an individual to sign the Financial Statements on behalf of the trust.’

verb

[with object]

1Record (the proceedings of a meeting)

‘the Secretary shall minute the proceedings of each meeting’

‘Incredibly, not a single meeting is minuted, and no recordings are made.’

‘As the meeting was not minuted, I wrote a letter to you after this meeting to ensure that there would be no misunderstanding.’

‘I don't recall who asked the question, or if the meeting was properly minuted, but the response was that the traffic model showed that Staverton would be a ‘pinch-point somewhere that drivers would avoid’.’

‘None of these meetings was actually minuted, he said.’

‘He then asked her if she was still minuting the meeting and the other people in the room became uncomfortable and she was asked to leave.’

‘Contrary to good practice and corporate governance, the meeting was not minuted and the discussions had taken place without the knowledge and/or authority of the board.’

‘Ms B says that much of what was discussed at the meeting was not minuted.’

‘Jackie Evans, committee manager, declared a personal interest because she had minuted the PIC meetings.’

‘The children run and minute these meetings themselves.’

‘I have insisted that the autonomy of the editor must be fully protected by the Trust, which was minuted at the last meeting.’

‘But it is minuted at an executive meeting that Safa's exco confirmed Eddie du Plooy - not Ace Kika.’

‘Proceedings of the board are minuted and filed.’

‘PHJ would otherwise have chaired and minuted Site Meetings, rather than Costain, as was in fact the case.’

‘It would require all meetings between big business and those in administration to be minuted and available on government websites for public scrutiny.’

‘There was a further discussion on this plan at a Board Meeting on 10 October 1997 at which it was minuted that Mr Deckman and Mr Saucier ‘noted that the strategy contemplated a much downsized and profitable operation’.’

‘Mr Mitchell remained unhappy that these fees had been agreed in advance of the meeting taking place, and requested that this point be minuted.’

‘Strangely this failure to minute discussions was also mentioned in the Hinduja Report.’

‘It's not the sort of thing that's going to be minuted somewhere.’

‘Be it in blue, green or red, greatness transcends all criticism, and even if in Old Trafford red, admiration of Ruud Van Nistelrooy must be minuted and passed by the committee.’

‘If this were to take place, it would be minuted in a council of ministers meeting, and it would be gazetted.’

2Send a memorandum to (someone)

‘look up the case and minute me about it’

‘Private Secretary minuted me on 31 May to say that the Minister was sure this was the right approach.’

‘Strangely enough, my executive minuted me that it was very upset about that, but it did not do a great deal about it.’

Origin

Late Middle English (in the singular in the sense ‘note or memorandum’): from French minute, from the notion of a rough copy in ‘small writing’ (Latin scriptura minuta) as distinct from the fair copy in book hand. The verb dates from the mid 16th century.